HMS BOUNTY ABANDONS SHIP! Storm is OVER 1000 MILES in DIAMETER!!

The Coast Guard is responding to a distressed vessel with 17 people aboard approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras N.C., Monday.

Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a call from the owner of the 180-foot, three mast tall ship, HMS Bounty, saying she had lost communication with the vessel's crew late Sunday evening.

The Coast Guard 5th District command center in Portsmouth subsequently received a signal from the emergency position indicating radio beacon registered to the Bounty, confirming the distress and position.

An air crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City launched aboard an HC-130 Hercules aircraft, which later arrived on scene and reestablished communications with the Bounty's crew.

The vessel is reportedly taking on water and is without propulsion. The Coast Guard is continuing to monitor the Bounty's situation.

On scene weather is reported to be 40 mph winds and 18-foot seas. The vessel is approximately 160 miles west of the eye of hurricane Sandy.

We're told the crew had only handheld radios once they abandoned ship, so there was not contact until the aircraft got near the scene.

The Bounty was built for a 1962 film and has been featured in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.

The Bounty has been to Carteret County a couple times, back in the 2000s. According to its website, the Bounty "sails the country offering dockside tours in which one can learn about the history and details of sailing vessels from a lost and romanticized time in maritime history."

It's not clear why the ship set sail in the Atlantic Ocean with Hurricane Sandy churning up the East Coast.